


the stop signs I missed

by Poteto



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Another from the series I wrote this fic for me, Bittersweet Ending, Canon Compliant, Character Study, F/M, Friendship, Light Angst, Mild Language, One-Sided Attraction, Relationship Study, Some Humor, Whump, but y'all can read it too I guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:29:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23875480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poteto/pseuds/Poteto
Summary: Gray Fullbuster falls in love without meaning to and making it stop takes time.
Relationships: Gray Fullbuster & Loke, Gray Fullbuster & Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster/Lucy Heartfilia - onesided, Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia
Comments: 12
Kudos: 106





	the stop signs I missed

**Author's Note:**

> I have literally no excuse. I was just rereading Fairy Tail I got obsessed with NaLu and even more obsessed with the little crush Gray obviously has on Lucy. Some of the dialogue has been lifted from the manga, word from word, and the rest is just my interpretation of how things went.

Gray’s interest is piqued when one of his friends strolls into the guild dragging a girl along.

Or… well. Not right away. He isn’t like Loke, always on the prowl for girls. As pretty as she is, he doesn’t pay her any mind even when Natsu throws him at her and he politely has to ask her if she can lend him some of her clothes. He doesn’t know why she gets so angry, he thinks it’s perfectly reasonable and preferable to being naked in front of her.

He doesn’t go out of his way to talk to her, but he learns more about her without meaning to. Her name is Lucy. She was looking for a guild to join, so Natsu brought her along. She seems surprised that, in order to join the guild, all she has to do is talk to the master. Gray thought that was common knowledge. Maybe, from where she comes from, there are different ways to join a guild? She certainly doesn’t look like she’s from around Magnolia with her golden blonde hair and the hint of an accent he can’t quite place.

 _Just where is she from,_ Gray asks himself, as he overhears Lucy talking to Mirajane. It seems like Lucy doesn’t know basic things, like how the Magic Council works, what are the duties of a guild master, all things an independent mage should know. It’s as if Lucy had been kept in a pretty little box through all of her life, like a doll, until suddenly she decided to run into shenanigans, only now learning how everything worked. 

Whatever. One more misfit hanging around is not something for him to concern himself with. Even though Lucy doesn’t quite look the part, the guild is welcoming, so there is no reason she won’t fit right in.

He watches Lucy awkwardly trying to befriend Mira. It wouldn’t be so weird if she wasn’t so starry-eyed all the time, acting more like a fan that just wants a copy of Sorcerer’s weekly signed rather than a guildmate and... _fine!_ Maybe _he is_ watching her more closely than he would’ve any newbie. Sue him. She is a pretty girl and he is a healthy young man, for fuck’s sake. It’s not that the girls around him aren’t pretty, but, being raised with them, he can’t help but seeing them in a sisterly way.

Lucy then tags along with Natsu and Happy when, on a whim, the dumbass goes after Macao in the mountains. Gray supposes that’s normal. Natsu brought her in, so it’s only natural she’d stay with him, isn’t it? It’s like when you go to a party with a person you don’t quite know that well, but they’re the only person you truly know, so you’re stuck with them.

He doesn't think it’s really unusual until he’s coming back from a mission and runs into the trio yet again and he hears that they’d just finished their second mission in a row.

To top it all, on the following day he overhears Mirajane explaining to Lucy the concept of dark guilds - _seriously, had that girl lived under a rock before joining Fairy Tail?_ \- and Natsu interrupts their conversation by casually demanding:

“By the way, you should pick a job already.”

Lucy scowls at him. “Why do I have to hear that from you?”

“Because we’re a team, aren’t we?” Natsu grins.

Gray stops pretending he isn’t listening and turns around to better understand what’s going on. _We’re a team_ , Natsu said.

“We picked the last gig, remember?” Happy intervenes, as if none of this was unusual. “Now it’s Lucy’s turn.”

Lucy crosses her arms and pouts, showing a side Gray hadn’t seen yet. So far she was either fangirling over someone she’d seen on a magazine before or awkwardly smiling apologetically when the rowdiness of the guild made her uncomfortable. Apparently, she was past that stage with Natsu, comfortable enough to be mad at him.

“Don’t play around,” she says. “I know that team talk was just a lie for the mission, wasn’t it? So long it was a blonde girl, you guys wouldn’t care, would you?”

Unfazed by the accusation, Natsu quirks an eyebrow. “That’s not just it. Lucy, I picked you because you seem like a nice person.”

Was he trying to make her feel welcome? Judging by the blush rising on her cheeks and her suspicious glare, he wasn’t succeeding at it. Gray takes pity on the girl and intervenes:

“Why, it’s not a big deal. Soon enough you’ll have more requests to form a team than you can count.”

Maybe that would make Lucy see that there was no need for nervousness. Everyone in the guild was good people, Gray was sure.

“Damn meddler,” Natsu mumbles. 

_What the fuck._

“What did you just say, you shitty firecracker?” Gray snarls.

“You’re damn annoying, you pervert!” Natsu barks back.

They start a fight after that, as you do, and when Lucy scolds them Natsu insists that Gray started it, even though he fucking didn’t, what the hell? Gray was chatting like normal when _Natsu_ treated him like an annoyance. 

Alas. Soon after, Erza arrives and asks them to tag along in a mission, which proves Gray’s point that teams aren’t a big deal.

Except for Natsu, that is.

Gray doesn’t mean to imply Natsu is asocial or anything of the sort. Quite the contrary, actually. Natsu is everyone’s friend, always getting along with - as in comfortable enough to brawl with - everyone. Natsu doesn’t do teams, though. Other than Happy, he doesn’t tag along with anyone nor invites anyone to work with him, since…

Well, since Lisanna. 

Gray knows well what loss does to a person. Everyone felt Lisanna’s absence but, other than Mira and Elfman, Natsu was the one that took it the hardest. She’d been his best friend, always following him like a puppy and accommodating all of his needs. Gray thought himself one of Natsu’s closest friends - not that he would ever say that out loud - but even him wouldn’t intervene in his grief. Natsu and Happy didn’t take new partners after Lisanna. Gray didn’t think they were actively choosing to do so, but rather didn’t feel right including someone else.

The fact that Lucy gets to not only tag along with them but be officially part of their team just makes Gray more curious about her.

He then goes on that mission with Erza and Natsu. Lucy is also there, apparently under Mira’s request. Soon enough Gray notices she is not as shy as he first thought. She still fangirls quite a bit, especially towards Erza, but he sees why Natsu grew so comfortable around her so fast. Hell, even Gray starts to feel like he’s known her for years after a single mission. The girl simply has a way of making people like her.

(Looking back, Gray should have known. He knew Lucy didn’t need a chaperone, so there should be another reason why she and Natsu were joined at the hip. He knew Natsu wasn’t one to throw insults for no reason, so that “damn medler” should have been quite telling.)

(Perhaps, Gray was in denial even then. There was something he wanted. He wasn’t about to pay attention to the signs that it was also something he couldn’t have.) 

Gray wasn’t a team person. He’d go on missions sparingly with Loke, seldom with Cana, but he’d never been part of a team per se. Not a permanent one like Shadow Gear or Natsu and Happy. He’s not interested in joining a team. The mission to defeat Eisenwald was supposed to be an one time thing.

Then Natsu steals a fucking S class mission and Lucy apparently is okay with it. Gray thought she was supposed to be smart, but that’s another thing he should’ve known. All Fairy Tail members have this need to prove themselves, a thirst for adventure that cannot be contained. Lucy might be new, but judging by the way she was getting along with everyone - with Natsu - she couldn’t be as weak as she appeared. She kept claiming that she didn’t know how to fight and Gray supposed that that made sense, though all celestial mages had to do was call a spirit and command them to do their bidding. In Lucy’s case, that couldn’t be entirely true. 

Gray wanted to find out. 

Maybe when he volunteered to go pick up the idiots like the babysitter they needed it wasn’t entirely because of his rivalry with Natsu. Maybe, just a little, he also wanted to see Lucy and learn a little more about her. 

Of course, everything went off the rails as soon as he found his stupid friends. Natsu basically kidnapped him and next thing he knows, Gray is in on a boat halfway to the Galuna Island.

“Well, now I’m kinda scared,” Lucy mumbles at some point. 

Gray glares at her. There she is again, acting all coward and weak, even though it was her dumb choice to follow Natsu in a mission they were not prepared for. The dumbasses.

In the end, Gray decides to help them, because hey, what the hell. They’re already in the island with no foreseeable way to go back anyway. All Fairy Tail members have the need to prove themselves and Gray isn’t an exception to the rule. And, despite everything, those people need help, for fuck’s sake. It’s not like Erza, Laxus and Mystogan were doing anything, so they might as well. 

All in all, with Lyon’s involvement, finding Deliora and all the drama that ensues, Gray completely leaves aside the team thing and the Lucy thing. Finding his past in the island is a bitter reminder that he has no business running after dumb girls and forming teams.

He has to focus all of his energy in making Lyon go back to his senses and protect Ur’s last efforts to save him. He has to focus on not crumbling under the memory of being the cause of his teacher’s death and the fact that he forgot in the first place. That he’d been so busy with mundane stuff that he hadn’t been honoring Ur’s sacrifice. He’s ready to die in order to stopping Lyon and he needs Natsu to save him before he does something utterly dumb.

Deep down, he knows that Ur didn’t sacrifice herself expecting him to pay back somehow and that is why Natsu is able to reach him. She is gone so that he can live. But how can he? If anything, Ur’s choice made clear there are some things worth sacrificing yourself for. 

When it’s all over, it’s Lucy, of all people, that comes to him all worried because he now has a small scar on his forehead. Something about her honest concern makes him smile.

“A scar isn’t a problem so long it can be seen,” he tells her.

“That’s so deep,” she grins back as if she’s honestly charmed and that comforts him. 

He doesn’t know why, but she seems so carefree and unworried that it puts his own problems in perspective. The fact that there are people out there worried about something as small as a physical scar. The world is bigger than him, he has so much to see yet. 

Then Natsu comes around and ruins the moment by taking his words literally. 

(It wouldn’t be the first or last time Natsu would do that.)

Gray is still not a team person, but that’s where things seem to be headed anyway. For years, he’s been in the guild with Natsu, Erza and Happy and none of them showed interest in him, but he supposes he was in the right place at the wrong time. He happened to be there when Natsu and Lucy came back from their second mission. He happened to be invited by Erza to help once. And he happened to be the only one willing to drag Natsu’s sorry ass back from Galuna Island. 

Then suddenly Erza was dragging them around as if it was just normal. Gray can’t do anything if that’s what Erza wants. It’s Erza, after all. Even if he allegedly hates Natsu. Even if he doesn’t want to fuck around with Lucy.

They never truly talk about it. Very rarely, Natsu, Happy and Lucy go on missions of their own. More often than not, they drag Gray with them even when Erza is above those pesky missions. (He’s still totally going because Erza wants him to, not because of Natsu and Lucy at all.)

The thing is - and Gray avoids even thinking about it, in case Warren is around - he _likes_ Natsu. He likes their petty fights because they make him feel alive. Natsu is funny and easy to be around and one hell of a partner when it comes to fighting others. If they have both heat and cold covered, what can their enemies even do? All their bickering aside, he doesn’t know why it never occurred to either of them to form a team before. Hell, Gray doesn’t remember ever _going_ on a mission with Natsu, even before when Lisanna was around.

Then he realizes it’s because of Lucy. Unlike Erza, she isn’t busy with higher ranked missions and she doesn’t fly away at the first sight of a brawl like Happy does. If he was left alone with Natsu, Gray would probably kill him. Lucy stops them from doing so by intervening when it’s necessary and she always seem to know when it is. Lucy helps him be better friends with Natsu and he is thankful for that.

Whereas Natsu is the brother he gets to be foolish with and Erza is an authoritative big sister, Lucy is the friend that takes him seriously, Gray realizes one night.

Lucy is telling Mira about something she read on a magazine… Something about underpaid independent young mages on the south, because they didn’t trust the guilds nearby and therefore chose not to join.

“I understand, to a degree,” Gray says, before chugging at his drink. He doesn’t think Lucy or Mira had noticed he was paying attention to them. He kind of expects Lucy to hit him, like Natsu would, and scold him for diminishing guilds. 

Instead, Lucy gives him an intent look. “How come?”

No brawl started. No heated rebuttal. He’s caught so off-guard he splutters with his drink a bit. 

“I mean… For each mission, a guild gets a percentage of the prize, isn’t it? Some on the south are borderline predatory. If I lived there, I’d want to go solo, too.”

Lucy frowns, but ultimately nods. “I see where you’re coming from. But… I don’t know. I never thought of _not_ joining a guild. When I decided to start working, I never even considered going off on my own. I suppose for a strong mage like you or Natsu that would be an option, but for me…”

He’s still taken aback by the fact that she isn’t calling him an arrogant lone wolf or preaching at him. Just talking. Taking his words at face value. That’s new.

“Aren’t you selling yourself short? You have now, what, 4 out of the 12 keys to the zodiac spirits? I’ve heard that’s sort of a big deal.”

Realizing Lucy is entertained enough, Mira smiles at Gray before walking away to serve someone else. Meanwhile, the celestial mage has stars in her eyes, her face suddenly lighting up with a barely contained smile.

“What’s that? I thought you didn’t know anything about celestial magic,” she says.

Gray chuckles. “What are you so pleased about? It’s not a big deal.”

“Natsu and Happy keep forgetting the most basic things,” she rolls her eyes. “It’s nice to know _someone_ pays attention.”

Gray doesn’t like that she’s bringing up Natsu. He takes another chug from his beer. “Loke might have explained a thing or two to me,” he mumbles.

Lucy quirks an eyebrow at that and briefly glances around, probably looking for Loke. “I’m surprised he remembers anything about it, judging by how much he avoids celestial mages. Why did he tell you about it, though?”

“I asked.”

Lucy tilts her head to the side, her expression politely surprised.

“It’s not a big deal,” Gray says, bashfully. “I try to know the basics of everyone’s magic, ya’ know? It’s easier to fight side-by-side if you know your allies. We’re kind of a team now, aren’t we?”

She smiles again, but this time there is something bashful about it. “I’m glad to be in a team with strong mages like you guys. But I still have a lot to learn. My spirits are crazy strong, but I have to train a lot to do them justice.”

Gray frowns. He doesn’t think she’s being completely fair, but he doesn't quite know how to argue. He himself thought Lucy was weak before. But perhaps weak isn’t right…

“Natsu, Erza and I have been training together since we were brats. You just started and you’re already doing great, I think.”

That’s just an assumption. He doesn’t know how long Lucy has been fighting. Perhaps he’s still attached to that idea that she had been living in a dollhouse until her owners accidentally let her escape and she fell right into Fairy Tail. He might be right on the money on that, however, because Lucy doesn’t correct him on the time she’s been a fighter. 

“Thanks,” she says. “But then you understand why someone this unexperienced would probably be better in a guild?”

“Perhaps,” he says. “But I think you’d survive even if you didn’t have a guild to back you up. You don’t look like it, but you can be pretty scrapy.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” She slaps him on the shoulder, but it’s almost too light to feel and she’s laughing without taking any offense. 

And they go on arguing the benefits of joining a guild and staying on your own. Apparently, Lucy has learned quite a lot on the past few months, because from someone that didn’t know how the Magic Council worked, she sure knows her guild laws now - perhaps she learned out of self-preservation, to be able to stop Natsu when he inevitably broke them. Not once do they agree, but Lucy listens to him attentively and considers seriously every point he makes.

Gray knows he probably shouldn’t compartmentalize his friends in what they’re good for. But that is exactly what he does. Natsu is for tomfoolery. Erza is to keep him in line. Cana is his drinking buddy. Loke is a work partner. And Lucy is for long, interesting conversations he’d like to stretch for as long as he could. He never in his life has this much fun in being disagreed with. 

He is used to his friends having different talents in different areas - or, in Natsu’s case, zero brain cells - but Lucy is by far the smartest person he’d ever met. He could listen to her talk for hours.

(He still doesn’t hang out with her as much as he wanted to. They have bills to pay, food to buy, so they spend most of their time working. While he’s on missions, they seldom have time for that sort of talking.)

(Gray doesn’t notice at first that it’s because she’s busy talking to Natsu.)

When the Phantom Lord shit starts, Gray’s theories about Lucy are more or less confirmed. He didn’t realize he didn’t know her last name until she is taken away and brought back without anyone noticing. 

Anyone, but Natsu. Again.

The Lucy Natsu brings back isn’t the starry-eyed girl excited to join a big guild. Lucy has red bags under her eyes and is gripping at Natsu’s arm like she’s afraid of falling should he leave her to stand on her own legs. Gray has never seen Lucy, bright, sunny and optimistic Lucy, looking so sad.

He suddenly feels bad for, so many weeks ago at the Galuna Island, having thought of her as careless. He recognizes the slump on her shoulders, the hollow look in her eyes. It’s something he saw in the mirror many times. He doesn’t know the details yet, but he knows for sure she’s been through some shit. 

Surprisingly carefully, Natsu lets her take a seat and stays by her side, looking a bit like a bodyguard, but Gray realizes he’s offering moral support. It works, if the way Lucy keeps glancing at him as she talks. He doesn’t do much other than nod, but it seems enough.

Lucy tells them she is the daughter of a powerful businessman. She ran away a year ago to escape her father’s overbearing way of living, but apparently suddenly he decided that he wanted his daughter back and hired Phantom Lord to get her. She’d been master Jose’s hostage when Natsu rescued her.

So this is their excuse. 

Knowing Phantom Lord’s goal doesn’t make the mages any less angry, but it does make it easier to plan around it. So that’s what they do. Erza leaves to check on their master’s status before making any decisions and they can’t do anything but wait.

Gray then notices Lucy sitting pathetically on a corner. Natsu is still by her side, unwavering, but she isn’t paying him any mind anymore. He hates to see her like that, so defeated and helpless. Lucy is no Erza Scarlet, but she is no weakling. She is spunky and positive, the one that complains the loudest, but also works the hardest. He turns to her without knowing what he’s doing.

“What is it? Are you still feeling bad?” He asks.

_Of course she is, Fullbuster, why can’t you just comfort her?_

“That’s not it,” Lucy mumbles. “It’s just…” She takes a pause, still glaring at her own knees. “I’m sorry.”

Somewhere behind them, Elfman’s strong voice intervenes: “Heiresses are often sought after. Men are supposed to protect them.”

“Don’t fucking say that to her!” Gray snaps, because all that Lucy does not need now is someone telling her that it just be like that. 

“But that was unexpected. Why did you hide from us, Lucy?” Happy asks.

“I didn’t mean to hide…” Lucy says. “After I ran away, I simply didn’t want to talk about it. Then dad didn’t show any interest for an entire year, but now he wants me back…? And look how far he went just to take me. He’s the worst! But… After all, it’s my fault for running away, isn’t it?”

“That’s not right,” Elfman insists. “Your dad is the bad guy here.”

“ _Idiot_ ,” Gray hisses.

“I-I meant Phantom Lord!” Said idiot quickly amends.

Lucy kindly ignores that. “Thanks to my selfishness, everyone got involved. That’s why… I’m really sorry. If I just went back home, everything would be alright, wouldn’t it?”

Gray bites his lower lip. He could tell her that, if Phantom Lord only wanted her, they could’ve kidnapped her without all of the fuss and without involving the entire guild. Gray is sure that finding Lucy alone would be way easier than luring the entirety of Fairy Tail to their guild and hoping Lucy stayed behind with Levy. He is no stranger to guilt, however. He knows it doesn’t work like that. He knows Phantom Lord was just looking for an excuse to attack and this job from Lucy’s father was just the one they found. 

The thing is that they’d still be looking for an excuse if Lucy wasn’t there.

The fact that her father just sent people to kidnap her mustn’t sit well either. 

Gray might have lost his parents early, but the brief years he had with them were great. He cannot imagine what it’d be like having your parent willingly put you in such risk. He cannot imagine hating your family enough to run away.

While Gray agonizes searching for something to say, Natsu hums.

“I dunno. This whole rich princess thing doesn’t suit you. The Lucy I know fits better making a ruckus in a dirty guild or yelling at us during missions.” He pauses and Gray is about to tell him off for insulting her when she’s already sad, but Natsu continues before he can put the words together: “You said you want to stay here, right? Why would you go back to a place you don’t want to be? You’re Fairy Tail’s Lucy now. This is the only home you have to go back to.”

Well, damn. Gray doesn’t think he could make a speech like that. Lucy starts bawling and all he can do is tell her to stop it, she’s stronger than that.

Lucy cries herself to sleep and they leave her under Mirajane's care. Erza calls Gray and Natsu to discuss their options.

“This being Lucy’s father's doing changes a couple of things,” she starts.

“What the fuck, no, it doesn’t,” Natsu snaps.

Erza ignores him. “Does anyone know how old she is?”

“She’s 18, her birthday was last month,” Natsu says. “Why does that matter?”

Gray shoots him a surprised look. Natsu loves all of his friends to death, but it isn’t like him to remember specific things such as birthdays. If Erza notices the weirdness of it, she says nothing, instead nodding with a somber expression.

“That’s a relief. If she’d been 17, her father could justify his actions.”

“No, he couldn’t!” Natsu barks. “He can’t take Lucy away!”

Erza effectively shuts him up with a single glare, but he keeps pouting.

“Of course, allowing them to take her away was never an option,” Erza says. “Her being of age simply makes things easier on our side. We should prepare to defend her.”

Natsu visibly relaxes. “That’s a no brainer. They come for Lucy, we kick their asses.”

Erza sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. “How did you get her back anyway? We didn’t even know she was missing.”

“One of the goons led me to where she was,” Natsu shrugs. “So I went to get her back.” 

He says it as if it’s nothing of importance. It isn’t until later that Happy tells Gray that Lucy was in some sort of tower when the crazy girl decided to jump because she _thought_ she heard Natsu outside.

The idea of someone trusting another that much - anyone, even Natsu - is outlandish to him. But, apparently, Lucy didn’t think twice, she unashamedly told them she was sure Natsu would catch her.

Gray suddenly realizes what he should’ve noticed months before - would’ve noticed, if he wasn’t so blinded by his own wishful thinking - that Lucy isn’t always following Natsu out of habit. She gravitates towards him in an irresistible pull that she doesn’t think of resisting because she doesn't want to resist. Perhaps she didn’t even notice it was there. The thing is Natsu is her savior in many ways, the one that brought her to a place she can call home, the one that is always by her side when she needs help. She looks at him like he’s her hero. Gray had read some of Lucy’s short stories. The ones with the princess locked away in a dragon guarded tower only to be swept off her feet and saved by a prince charming type. 

He wouldn’t be surprised to find one in which the princess is saved by a dragon instead.

What surprises him, however, is the violent wave of pure and ugly jealousy that comes after. 

Gray doesn’t have girl problems. Sure, he’s no Loke, but he is popular enough and he indulges some flings here and there. He might be slowly becoming a team person, but he’s definitely not a relationship person. With all the trauma and issues he carries… it wouldn’t be fair to ask a girlfriend to carry all of that with him and he isn’t stupid enough to think he can keep all that to himself while in a relationship.

He never allowed himself anything other than physical attraction with girls that wanted nothing serious out of it. He never expected to develop feelings for someone that was supposed to be like family. He never had to guard himself with the girls from the guild, because he never thought of hooking up with Erza or even Mirajane. They were pretty, but they were his sisters. Lucy is different. 

The fact that he realizes that what he feels for her is not your regular crush at the same time he realizes she’s interested in Natsu of all people… it doesn’t help.

What does she even see in him?

(Gray isn’t being fair. Natsu is a great guy. He is brave and kind when it matters, what there is to not like?)

He doesn’t suit her, Lucy is way out of his league.

(Gray knows better than anybody else that, when push comes to shove, Lucy is not that shallow. And, despite sometimes slipping into her rich girl persona, she always looks the happiest when she’s being rambunctious with the rest of them… With Natsu.)

Natsu doesn’t even care about this romance stuff.

(Natsu never participated when the other guys were going on and on about girls. Gray is sure he isn’t interested in girls like that. He might not be interested in anyone at all. The lucky bastard could have everything and he’s simply too clueless to take it.) 

All in all… Gray doesn’t want to think about it. 

A lot changes. Loke turns out to be a spirit. Gray is thankful that Lucy saves him, but there is a part of him - a small, petty and shameful part - that is a bit angry that he lost one of the few people he could run to when hanging around Lucy and Natsu got too much.

It isn’t so bad, he tells himself, because Loke still eventually shows up to see him. Like Lucy - who is Loke’s _owner_ now - Gray can count on him to have meaningful conversations sometimes, so he is glad for that, even if those visits aren’t always on Gray’s terms. He certainly doesn’t trust himself when he is _jealous_ around Cana and Mirajane, Erza was with Natsu and Lucy all the time and he needed to escape them. He needs a friend to ground him and, ironically, that friend comes from the heavens.

Then that girl Juvia joins the guild and he can’t figure her out.

When he hears about her, Loke snorts loudly. “From what I heard, Juvia is pretty straight-forward.”

Gray cringes. “It’s not that. I mean, it’s that, but not the _that_ you’re saying.”

Amused, Loke hands him a beer. Wordlessly, Gray freezes the outside and returns the can.

“What is it that I’m saying, then?”

“She’s grateful to me, for some reason. It’s a weird infatuation. It’ll go away if she stops doing weird stuff.”

Loke hums. “Is she that big of a problem?”

“She isn’t _awful._ She’s kinda fun to hang around when she’s not _being weird._ ”

“Oh, no,” Loke whines in a high-pitched voice. “A cool pretty girl is following me around, shouting her love for me! My life is soooo haaaard!”

Gray tries to hit him. Loke smoothly dodges, laughing. 

“Seriously, though, she sounds like a great person. Why don’t you give her a shot?”

“How do you know so much about her?”

“Lucy,” Loke says easily.

Gray cringes harder, wondering what Lucy could possibly have to say about Juvia. It bugs him to no end that Juvia goes around calling Lucy a love rival. Everyone else brushes it off as Juvia being Juvia, but she never seems to consider Cana or Erza a love rival. It’s just Lucy. Gray likes to think he’s not so easily read, so Juvia’s dedication unsettles him. 

“Don’t get your panties in a twist,” Loke says. “Or should I say… lack of pants.” Gray curses under his breath, because when the hell did he take off his pants? “Lucy talks about everyone, she always gives me updates on everyone on the guild. She was thrilled that Juvia fought by her side back at the Paradise Tower.”

Gray mumbles something under his breath. “Does Lucy know you’re here?”

“Heavens, no. I came here with my own magic.” _I wouldn’t tell her anything you didn’t want me to,_ Gray hears.

“What if she needs you and you’re fooling around?”

“My contract to Lucy outweighs anything else. I’ll go to her side as soon as she summons me.” 

“You’re drinking,” He points out.

“I’ll burn the alcohol out of my system before going to her.” Gray can’t tell whether he’s being serious or not. “Don’t worry your human head about it. Either way, I doubt Lucy will summon me anytime soon. When I last checked on her, she was asleep and Natsu was there.”

Gray chokes on his beer. He figured Natsu would break into Lucy’s apartment even when Gray and Erza weren’t there. Figuring it and hearing a confirmation weren’t the same. At all.

“Happy was there, too,” Loke offers. His mildly concerned smile doesn’t sit well with Gray.

“Whatever,” Gray mumbles.

“Well, as pleased as I am to be able to talk about my beloved Lucy, you didn’t tell me why you won’t give this Juvia person a shot.”

Gray sighs. “I don’t want to lead her on. Besides, she probably doesn’t even like me for real. She doesn’t even know me.”

“It isn’t leading her on if you make it clear you just want to see how it goes. You’re single, she’s single, what’s the holdup?”

Gray bites his lower lip. Juvia is… great. He is flattered that a girl like her decided that he was an appropriate subject for her affections. She really helped them with the whole Paradise Tower thing and he was nothing short of impressed with the way she sacrificed herself for Cana’s sake when Laxus went nuts. And it was a lot of fun to perform with her on the parade. He wasn’t used to working with someone that had powers so compatible with his.

Regardless, Juvia wasn’t quite the one he wanted.

“It’s not like you to hold back, Gray,” Loke says. Gray doesn’t think he’s talking about Juvia anymore. 

Gray agrees. But, in the same way he loved the way Lucy balanced things between them and made him and Natsu better friends, he hates the way she now makes him get angry at Natsu for apparently no reason. He can’t help the way he sees her. He also can’t help but see the way she sees his best friend. He’d never been jealous before and it’s not a pretty color on him.

“It’s not fair to Juvia to use her like that. I got to deal with my shit before I make a move on any girl like that.”

“It’s not gentlemanly to ask a woman to heal a man’s issues,” Loke agrees. “I’m giving you advice assuming you’ll allow the lovely lady to support you as much as you’ll support her, not that you’ll let her carry all the weight. You don’t have to be alone, Gray.”

Gray knows Loke isn’t talking about his past only. He must be talking about his pathetic unrequited crush. The fact that his crush’s magical spirit came to his house to tell him to move on speaks volumes about his odds. 

“I’m not alone, though. Aren’t you here?”

Loke accepts his silent request to change the subject. “Why, Gray, if I knew you were so willing, I’d have come using my lace underwear. We can’t, though, my love belongs with my master.”

Gray snorts and hits him. They don’t talk about love or any of that annoying stuff anymore.

He is not actively trying to hear them. It’s not his fault that Natsu is so goddamn loud, so you don’t need to be a dragon slayer to hear it when Lucy mentions she thinks someone has been following her. Natsu and Happy fucking make jokes about it. Gray manages not to start a fight right then and there, which is good. He would have a hard time justifying why Natsu bullying Lucy like usual made his blood boil. Gray liked to think of himself as a pretty discreet guy, but if Juvia and Loke could figure out, Lucy certainly could, if he wasn’t careful. 

Alas. Unlike Natsu, Gray didn’t forget that not long ago Lucy had been kidnapped. He knew it became common knowledge that she wasn’t a nobody like the rest of them and actually had a pretty rich father. He decides to follow Lucy to make sure she makes it home safe.

The whole thing is overly stupid. Lucy is his _friend._ If he’d asked her if she wanted to walk home together, she would’ve said yes. Hell, he’s sure she would allow him to sleep over at her place after only complaining mildly about it. 

However, his last conversation with Loke left him paranoid. Rationally, he knows Loke wouldn’t throw him under the bus like that. He trusted his friend. Irrationally, Gray must not under any circumstances allow Lucy to know he cares about her and her well-being, because now his crush is stopping him from even being a proper friend. 

He misses it when she leaves the guild. He ends up running around blind, unsure of what way she takes home, and decides to go to her place to see if she arrives safe. Much to his displeasure, Natsu and Happy seem to have had the same idea - _why didn’t these morons just walk her home?_ \- and they’re now standing in front of her house. 

Gray hides. Before he can grow truly paranoid, Lucy appears around the corner, holding her bag as some sort of life boat and with her shoulders slumped.

He doesn’t get to find out what made her like that because Natsu finds him and ruins everything, as Natsu usually does, and starts a fight. Lucy doesn’t seem creeped out that Gray followed her or flattered when he explains why he’s there. She looks like a marionette whose strings had been cut out and not even Gray and Natsu’s antics seem to snap her out of it. 

In another life, Gray would’ve stayed with her and asked her what was wrong. They used to talk about everything. Gray even told her stories of his childhood with Ur and Lyon and Lucy returned the favor by telling him more about her life before her mother passed away. They used to be the sort of friends that could vent to one another, knowing there would be no judgement or mockery from the other side. This time, he just goes home after Lucy dismisses them.

First, his feelings for Lucy were getting in the way of his friendship with Natsu. Now, they’re getting in the way of his friendship with Lucy. Gray hates it. Gray hates himself. 

But what is he to do about it? He can’t fight for Lucy. Even if she wasn’t helplessly in love with the biggest dumbass to ever walk on earth - a dumbass Gray cared about, of all dumbasses - Gray is still a ball of guilt, self-loathe and self-sacrifice tendencies. Trying to find a partner when he was still like that… it was out of question. Lucy was starlight where he was a snowstorm and he wasn’t about to steal her warmth. 

When it comes the time to strengthen their bonds to other guilds, Gray can sort of see why Makarov picks their ragtag team. Despite their issues, Erza, Gray and Natsu are some of the most powerful heavy hitters the guild has to offer and Lucy is the holder of the only brain cell the guild shares. They’re more sociable than the Raijinshu, stronger than Shadow Gear… It makes sense to send a team that is strong, but also tightly knit for such an important mission. 

What he doesn’t get is why Gajeel is glaring at him right before they leave. He could’ve been glaring at Natsu. Gray seriously doubts Gajeel is dumb enough to pick up beef with Erza and, after the shit he pulled at Phantom Lord, he knows Gajeel is suicidal enough to even raise his voice at Lucy. Natsu and Gray would gut him if he dared. Natsu seems like the most obvious choice, though he and Gajeel had quickly developed this weird alpha dragon rivalry. 

But that didn't seem to be the case. Regardless, Gray didn’t remember ever provoking Gajeel in any way. When he glared back more out of competitiveness rather than real anger, Gajeel simply scoffed and walked away. 

With everything that followed, Gray forgot about Gajeel rather fast. Between Lyon showing up, now reformed and seemingly happy, and Erza running into fucking Jellal, Gray had bigger worries.

Not big enough that he didn’t notice when Lucy and Natsu showed up out of nowhere in matching clothes. When asked why, Lucy blushed furiously and pushed the subject aside. 

Whatever. Erza went through hell yet another time and Gray is one of the few people that manages to get her to show her vulnerable side. At least he manages to be there for her when it’s all finally solved. One, out of four friends. That’s gotta be an improvement. 

What’s not an improvement is the way Lucy starts acting once they’re done with the mission. At first, Gray thinks she’s busy helping Wendy and Carla adjust. Being the former new girl, she must sympathize with the kid. That doesn’t seem to be the case, however, as Wendy quickly takes a liking to Erza and spends most of the time following her around. As for the rest of them, they’re all recovering. 

Oración Seis had not been easy enemies and even Natsu was taking a break from jobs after their return. 

With all of them spending their time at the guild and nothing else to do, Gray thought he’d catch up with Lucy. When he tried to talk to her for the third time and she literally ran into a column, rushing to Levy’s side he had to admit the truth: Lucy was avoiding him.

He had no idea why. Did she notice when he snuck out to spend time with Erza? That couldn’t be it. Even if she did, Lucy wasn’t petty like that. If Gray had to guess, she would’ve encouraged him to take care of Erza.

The last time he actually talked to her, they’d been in the middle of fighting Oración Seis. 

Then what gives?

He can’t call Loke and ask about it and he is sure Natsu wouldn’t be helpful - and Gray would rather die than admitting Natsu knew more about Lucy than he did. 

Gray then does the mature, smart thing. The thing that is not creepy at all: he climbs Lucy’s apartment window and waits for hr in her bedroom. He takes the opportunity to find the last draft of her book. It’s been a while since he snook a peek. He and Erza had formed a book club in which the only book they discussed were Lucy’s - and they only read it without her permission when they broke into her place. Erza had many sleepovers at Lucy's after Jellal was arrested, so Gray was a bit behind. 

He’s almost done when a startled shriek breaks his concentration.

“ _What the heck!_ ” Lucy runs to her bed and starts pelting him with her many pillows. “H-how did you get in? Why do you guys keep barging in?”

Gray ignores her feeble attack. Natsu usually gets greeted with a kick in the face. He wonders if he gets the pillow treatment because Lucy trusts him more… or because she doesn’t see him like that, therefore it isn’t that embarrassing to have him over.

“I figured if we were in your house you couldn’t hide from me,” he says, casually.

Lucy stops throwing pillows. Her cheeks dust with lovely pink. “Ah. I… I wasn’t hiding.”

Lucy is a terrible liar. Gray quirks an eyebrow at her and that’s all it takes to get her to cave in.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! It was just…” She avoids his gaze. 

“Just…?” Gray gestures, encouraging her to continue. She says nothing. He sighs. “Listen, Lucy, if I did something to make you upset, I’m sorry, alright? But I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me what it was.” 

“You didn’t!” She quickly retorts. There is guilt all over her expression. “I’m sorry, Gray, it’s my fault, I’m…”

 _It’s not you, it’s me?_ Gray thinks, with a hint of irony. Can he be dumped if he never confesses?

“It’s just… you know Gemini?”

Gray frowns at first, but then nods. “They’re spirits, right? They were that Oración Seis’ woman’s spirits.”

Lucy nods. “They have the power to turn into people. When they do, they get that person’s powers, memories, all that.”

Gray waits for her to continue while she squirms, her gaze fixed to a corner in her room as though it is the most interesting sight of her life.

“I’m being stupid, I know, it’s just… When they turned into you…”

_Wait, what?_

“They said some things that… I’m sure I misread it.”

_Oh no._

“Gemini said… they said you’re… you’re _interested in me.”_

And, just like that, Gray crumbles inside. She glances at him, painfully shy in an unLucy sort of way, her arms protectively crossed in front of her stomach as she changes her weight from one foot to another. She is beautiful even with her cheeks glowing like Erza’s hair but the expression in her warm brown eyes is nothing short of terrified.

Lucy is terrified of the idea that Gray might be in love with her.

He smiles. It would’ve hurt less if she had kicked him out of her house.

“Idiot,” he says and reaches to mess with her hair. “Were you embarrassed by that?”

Lucy squeals under his fingers.

“I am interested in you,” he says. She freezes. “Because you’re super weird.”

Lucy pushes his hand away. “What?”

“I’m curious about your magic, dumbass. We all have one sort of magic. But, with your spirits, you can arguably have all of them. I told you before I asked Loke about it, right? I was just interested in how celestial mages work. Did you think I wanted to make out with you or something?”

Her shoulders slump, her entire body relaxes. Her lips start curving upwards. She is utterly relieved.

“So that’s what it was!” she breathes out. “Gosh! I’m so sorry, Gray, I freaked out and blew things out of proportion!”

It’s almost funny that Lucy - kind, soft Lucy - could hurt him like that. Hilarious, even. She would never willingly harm any of her guildmates. She would go to hell and back to protect any of them. Being part of her team, Gray is sure that he has some advantage over others - maybe not Levy and Cana, but certainly he is a higher priority over friends like Jet and Droy - and he is sure that Lucy would do almost anything for his sake. It was funny how she could unwittingly stomp all over his heart when she was clearly appeased.

He wondered if she really believed him that easily of if she was just telling herself that she did so she wouldn’t feel so bad for not reciprocating his feelings.

Knowing her, it was probably the former. Lucy was incredibly intelligent and confident in some ways, but in others… She trusted her friends blindly. If Gray, Natsu and Erza told her the sky was pink, she would accept it. Whereas Gray grew bitter with his experience, Lucy went through hardships and became more determined on relying on others. She was so much stronger than he could ever be. 

“Idiot,” he whispers, finally leaving her hair be. “And here I was worried I had frozen one of your books on accident.”

Lucy giggles. “I’m really sorry. Guess I’ve been reading too much romance lately.”

“Idiot,” Gray repeats.

He isn’t referring to Lucy this time. 

The good thing about Fairy Tail is that he doesn’t have time to mull over heartache. Who has time to think about girls when you’re being dragged to another world full of weird doppelgangers, an evil Erza (that will haunt Gray’s nightmares until the end of his days, thank you very much) and flying cats?

The guild had some changes within, because there was also the fact that Mystogan was, in fact, another fucking Jellal and Gray is so done finding Jellals left and right. Siegrain is Jellal, Jellal is Jellal, dead Jellal is now jailed Jellal, Mystogan is Jellal, are there any other Jellals he needs to know about? Is Lisanna another one? Because Lisanna is back, and Gray is elated, but also very scared that this is too good to be true. He is so done that when Gajeel waltz in dragging with him the most terrifying muscular cat Gray had ever seen, he isn’t even bothered. It just be like that sometimes. 

He’s just relieved to be able to go back home with all of his friends. Actually, with 101% of his friends, if you count Lisanna. 

After Edolas, Juvia changes her hair back to what it used to be. Gray is mildly worried that she’s missing her Phantom Lord days. With Juvia, sometimes knowing less is for the best but he is too curious about how she managed to get her hair to grow so fast. Later he learns from Natsu that she asked Lucy’s help, of all people. Apparently Cancer could get hair to get longer, not only shorter. He wonders when Lucy and Juvia had become such close friends. Juvia would still openly antagonize Lucy and call her a rival, but would ask her for hair help? Lucy was too forgiving sometimes. 

On the day he learns about the way Juvia changed her hair, a shadow startles Gray on his way home. He’s about to turn the person into a popsicle when he realizes it’s just Gajeel.

“The hell?” He scowls. “Why are you sneaking around like a stalker? I almost froze you.”

Gajeel scowls at him. “You _wish_ you could freeze me, Icicle.”

“Gajeel, please,” the exceed sitting on his shoulder - Pantherlily, if Gray wasn’t mistaken - pokes Gajeel's cheek. “Be polite.”

Gajeel huffs like a kicked dog. “Whatever. I wanted to have a word with you without Salamander or that Bunny girl around. You never go anywhere alone, do you?”

It’s Gray’s turn to furrow his brow at the dragon slayer, suddenly remembering the dirty looks Gajeel gave him before. “What do you want with me?”

“I’m gonna be straight with ya’,” Gajeel walks up to him, undoubtedly trying to remind Gray that he is taller and more imposing. Unluckily for him, Gray grew up with Erza. He isn’t easily intimidated. “Drop the deuce or get off the potty, Icicle.”

Scratch that. Gray is... horrified. “What the fuck?” he whispers. 

Pantherlily facepalms, seemingly already preparing an apology on Gajeel’s behalf.

“You know what I’m talking about!” Gajeel barks.

“No, I fucking don’t, what the hell is wrong with you, man?”

“I’m talking about Juvia, you fucking idiot! Stop stringing her along!”

Gray freezes. The thought of Gajeel of all people trying to defend Juvia was risible for many reasons. For starters, Gray was sure Juvia could kick his sorry iron ass.

“I’m not,” he says. “I’m not doing anything.”

“My ass you’re not,” Gajeel crosses his arms. “You treat her like shit then you turn around and give her hope. Fucking stop it.”

Gray is taken aback by his abrasiveness. Could it be… “Are… Are you into her?”

He doesn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to him before, but it makes sense. Juvia was the one to ask Makarov to recruit Gajeel. She was Gajeel’s partner in missions more often than not and, at first, Gray thought it was because everyone else was to scared of him to partner with him, but now that he thinks about it….

Gray doesn’t know what to make of it. He had grown so accustomed to Juvia following him around like a lost puppy, the idea of someone else taking her away was-

Gajeel interrupts his thoughts by scoffing out loud. “If you think the only reason a guy would worry about a chick is because he wants to get in her pants, you’re way more fucked up than I thought.”

He blushes. “That’s not-”

“Whatever,” Gajeel cuts in. “Look, I know she can be damn annoying. And even I get that you don’t owe her anything. I’m not here to bully you into marrying her or whatever, I get that sometimes this stuff just doesn’t work. I’m just saying that you either start treating Juvia like a person or you dump her for good. Because from where I’m standing you keep going to her whenever Bunny girl’s busy then leaving her behind when you’re done and that shit’s not gonna fly anymore. Get it together, ‘k? She might be weird, but she’s not like me. She’s good people. And I’m not gonna let you keep getting advantage of her like that.”

Gajeel's speech stuns Gray more efficiently than any of his Iron Dragon’s roars could’ve. Soon enough, he realizes Gray won’t do or say anything and, with a firm nod, he decides to leave Gray to mull his words. 

While Gajeel walks away, Gray overhears Pantherlily saying something on the lines of “You did it, I’m proud of you,” to which Gajeel replied with an vehement _shut up._

Gray wishes he had an emotional support cat too, because whatever the opposite of pride is, it describes well what he’s feeling about himself.

One thing Gray doesn’t realize at first is that he’s afraid that Lisanna will steal Natsu back. It isn’t until he’s having lunch with Natsu, Lisanna walks in and he deliberately moves his body as if to hide Natsu from her view. As soon as he realizes what he’s doing, he feels like the stupidest man to ever walk on earth. First because Lisanna isn’t a newborn. She doesn’t forget Natsu exists simply because he isn’t in her view. Second because how the fuck did he climb down from his whole I-don’t-do-teams high horse to the if-you-at-least-look-at-my-team-I-will-stomp-you-with-my-ice-hooves? 

Lisanna is, however, unconcerned with Natsu. She greets him enthusiastically, tackle-hugs him whenever she has the opportunity to, but she’s focused on spending time with her family. 

Gray thinks Natsu will try and drag Lisanna into their team instead, but he doesn’t even try. Maybe he knows Lisanna needs time with her siblings. Maybe he doesn’t want to throw off their dynamics. Either way, their team remains unchanged by Lisanna’s presence.

On another day... 

“Graaaay,” Lisanna hiccups, before all but falling at his side. “Where are Natsu and Lucyyy?”

Their team remain unchanged, meaning Natsu and Lucy will still go on the occasional mission on their own. Erza doesn’t seem to mind it. Gray keeps pretending he doesn’t. 

He frowns at Lisanna. “Are you drunk?”

She giggles. “Just a little bit. I wazz… waz, like, hum, comforting Cana.”

“That will do the trick, I guess. Why does Cana need comfort?”

Mira isn’t round, luckily, so for Cana’s sake Gray goes behind the bar to grab Lisanna a glass of water. Maybe he can get her to sober up a bit before her sister comes back.

“She’s saaad,” Lisanna draws imaginary tears down her eyes with her fingers, “because Lucy’s gooone.”

Gray frowns. “Lucy’s only been gone for, what, 2 days?”

“I know, right!” Lisana throws her hands up, spilling the water Gray just poured. “I think, hic, I think… Cana has a little crush on her.”

“What?”

“Shhhhhhh, don’t tell anyone,” Lisanna has another giggle fit holding her indicator in front of her lips, as though asking Gray to keep a secret she’d just announced to the entire guild. “I don’t blame ‘er, though. This Lucy is super cute.”

Gray quirks an eyebrow at her. It seems like drunk Lisanna doesn’t need much prompting to keep talking.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love Edolas Lucy. Miss ‘er eeeeveryday. But this Lucy is so niiiice and preeeettyy… Cana has a crush on her. Heck, I think I’m gonna have a crush on her too.”

“Right, right,” Gray pours her another glass of water and this time he tries to make her actually drink it. “It’s just a guild full of people with crushes on Lucy.”

He isn’t bitter. He isn’t jealous of Cana. He isn’t.

Lisanna grins and hugs him. “You geeeet it, Graaay! Too bad none of us can compete with Natsuuu….” 

So apparently, even Lisanna knows Lucy likes Natsu. Great.

“He’s the one that loves Lucy the most…”

“Wait, what?”

Lisana eyes him, her eyes still blurry. “Natsu loves Lucy the most,” she repeats almost innocently. 

“No, he doesn’t,” Gray replies without thinking.

Her brow furrows in worry. “Are you jealous, Gray?”

This is a new low, even for him. Loke knowing is a thing. He knows Lucy and Gray better than anyone else. Juvia knowing is annoying, but she’s always watching him from real close, so it’s fine. Gajeel was an unexpected one, but if he’s Juvia’s friend, he’ll listen to her.

But Lisanna? Airhead, always daydreaming Lisanna? _Drunk_ Lisanna? Gray feels like he’s failing his own stoic persona. 

Thankfully, Lisanna eases his worries by pulling away from the hug and petting his hair. “Don’t be, Natsu loves you too,” she says, thinking Gray’s problem is being afraid that Lucy will take Natsu away from him. “Natsu loves all of us... He just happens to love Lucy a lil’ bit more. But it’s fine. Lucy deserves all the love.”

She seems so preoccupied with it, he can only grab the hand that is steadily messing up his hair and carefully push it to Lisanna’s lap. 

“You’re right,” he says. “All of the love.”

Her grin is so wide it could have split her face. “Aaaaall the love!” She giggles. “I’m gonna go over there give Cana some love, too, ya’ kno? So she doesn’t get lonely.”

“Nope, no more Cana for you.”

Lisanna hiccups and laughs all the way to the guild’s infirmary as if Gray carrying her drunk ass is the funniest shit she’d even been through. Gray notices Juvia giving them worried looks, but she has the tact of not being mad at the fact that Gray is helping a friend. He makes sure Lisana is safely tucked in a bed with no risk of drowning on her own puke. He sets a glass of water by her bed, to which she enthusiastically tells him he also deserves _aaaaall the love_. By the time he leaves the infirmary, she’s already snoring.

Gray cannot forget what she said as easily. Not when he walks back to the bar only to find out Natsu and Lucy are back. 

Apparently Lisanna didn't lie about Cana missing Lucy judging by the way she drunkenly clings to the other girl. 

"Did you have a fight with your girlfriend again?" Lucy asks, patiently petting Cana's hair.

"I'm so done with that bitch," Cana sobs into Lucy's neck. "Maybe I should go back to my last boyfriend instead."

Natsu rolls his eyes. "You could also not date anyone for a while. You wouldn't die, you know," he says. 

"Shhh, no words from the peanut gallery!" Cana scolds.

Lucy pulls a face at him over Cana's head. Natsu responds by making his own weird face and they go back and forth for a while, apparently communicating without words. Meanwhile, Cana is taking the opportunity to slowly snake her hands up Lucy's waist inching closer and closer to her-- Gray has half a mind to step in and stop her.

Before he starts moving, Natsu pulls Cana away so fast even Lucy seems to be confused about where she went. 

"Noooo~" Cana whines, but try as she might she can't free herself from Natsu's grasp. "Luuucyyy…"

"Natsu, don't be mean…" Lucy chastises, not unkindly.

"I'll stop being mean when she stops being a pervert," he growls.

"You can't keep Lucy all for yourself," Cana whines.

"I can and I will," he retorts. "She's my partner."

Lucy blushes, but instead of scolding him, she resorts to comforting Cana from a distance. The whole time he's restraining her, Natsu keeps his eyes on Lucy. Soon enough, his scowl relaxes and the corners of his lips tilt upwards in the slightest. Even though Lucy's soothing words aren't directed at him, he seems to drink her voice, benefitting from her calming effect all the same. 

Soon enough, Cana gets bored and pries herself away from his grip to go somewhere else.

Lucy stays where she is,sitting by the table. Natsu takes Cana's place by her side, straddling the bench so he can face her, his knees in her personal space. If Lucy notices, she doesn't show. They keep talking, as though returning to a conversation Cana had interrupted earlier. Lucy drops her comforting persona - the delicate princess, polite and prim - and laughs loud enough to let out an ugly snort. While she laughs, Natsu seems to forget whatever he was saying and he simply stares at her with that dumbfounded expression of his. 

They’re so lost in each other they don’t even notice Gray, staring holes into the back of their heads. 

How could Gray have been so blind?

Not that he needed any confirmation, but what a fucking lousy friend he is. Lisanna hadn’t seen Natsu - their Natsu, at least - in literal years and she saw in a couple of days what Gray refused to see in months: Natsu wasn’t, in fact, uninterested in love. Natsu just hadn’t found the right person… before he brought her to the guild himself, that is.

Gray bites his lower lip and feels the need to look away. He hadn’t realized he was secretly hoping he had a shot. He knew Lucy wasn’t fully aware of her feelings and, if there was no way Natsu would like her back, then there was still hope, right? 

He turns away because he doesn’t know how to name what he’s feeling. He can’t resent his friends. Not when they look that undeniably happy and in love, even if neither is aware of it. He loves them both, he wants them to be happy. 

The fact that their happiness makes him unhappy is the part he doesn’t want to deal with. 

As he tries to look anywhere but at Natsu and Lucy, he meets someone’s gaze. Juvia had been watching him with a sober expression. She turns it into a sad smile when their eyes lock. 

He remembers Gajeel’s words. Y _ou keep going to her whenever Bunny girl’s busy then leaving her behind,_ he said. _She’s good people. And I’m not gonna let you keep getting advantage of her like that._

Gray wonders if he had smiled like that when he lied to Lucy about his interest on her.

“Gray-sama,” Juvia approaches him, her voice soft, “would you like to walk home together?”

He would usually jump at the opportunity. Juvia was nice and funny when it was just the two of them and she got all of her fangirl out of her system, but it’s not fair.

_Either start treating Juvia like a person or you dump her for good._

“Juvia, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

“Gray-sama, you underestimate Juvia,” she raises her chin. “Juvia is more observant than Gray-sama thinks. She is pretty sure she has the right idea.”

Gray sighs. “Juvia…”

“Juvia thinks,” she cuts him off, “that Gray-sama needs some friendly company. Is it too conceited of her to try and be that friend?”

Gray hesitates. What had Loke said? _It isn’t leading her on if you make it clear you just want to see how it goes._

It might be selfish, but he really doesn’t want to be alone tonight.

“If it’s just as friends…” He starts. 

He expects her to perk up and start doing her thing, but Juvia keeps her expression collected. _She_ doesn’t seem to be _acting_ like a prim and proper lady as it is just natural for her. 

He hates that he’s comparing the two of them. He hates himself for it. He hates that he knows exactly what Juvia is feeling and that she’s a whole lot more mature and selfless about it than he could ever be.

“Friends,” Juvia agrees. “Juvia wants to spend time together, since from tomorrow on she’ll be gone for a little while. She is going on a mission with Gajeel-kun, if Gray-sama wants to tag along.”

“There is nothing in the world I want less than going on a mission with Gajeel.”

She huffs and goes on a rant explaining why Gajeel isn’t as bad of a person as he seems - Gray already knows that - and he listens to her actively as they walk out of the guild together without acknowledging Natsu and Lucy. Gray doubts they noticed it.

He wants to stop noticing them so much, too. He wants to stop turning a blind eye to all the stop signs that were right in front of him all along and start actively making an effort to fix things up.

It’ll take time, but there’s only so much one can do at once. 

And it’s fine.

For now, it’s fine.

**Author's Note:**

> I thought of making a sequel analysing how his feelings for Juvia develop next, but nah, that seems too easy.
> 
> Either way, I wrote this overnight, so please, let me know if I missed any spelling or grammatical mistakes on my quick sleepless editing.
> 
> If you read so far, pls come talk about Fairy Tail with me on [tumblr](https://vikingpoteto.tumblr.com/) and send me prompts, I'm 110% obsessed and I have nowhere to chanel these feelings.


End file.
